The Snake and the Sinking Sand
by Southern Steel
Summary: Robin, Much, and Will are young boys growing up together. When they decide to go swimming every thing seems fine, until they get ready to leave.


_**This is my first Robin Hood fanfic, but I hope it's not too bad. They are young, but I wasn't sure how to write for a 3,4, and 5 year old so I just wrote it like normal. Oh and I don't know if Much is older then Robin or if Will is younger then Robin, that's just what I think. Feel free to review. Disclamer: I own nothing. :( **_

_The Snake and the Sinking Sand_

Three young boys ran around the lake. The oldest, a short, red haired boy of five, looked at the other two nervously. The second oldest, an average sized boy with short light brown hair of four seemed to be the leader. The last boy was also the shortest with short black hair at the age of three.

"Come on Much!" Robin whined. "It's not like we're doing anything very bad."

"But swimming in the lake." Much shook his head.

"It'll be fun!" Will Scarlett's eyes were bright with excitement.

Despite the fact that Robin, when he became older, would be the two boy's master, the three were still good friends. Much, being the oldest, took it as his duty to make sure that the younger two didn't do anything dangerous. Most of the time, however, Robin persuaded him to go along with whatever he and Will had come up with. Will never needed to be persuaded. He looked up to Robin and was eager to do anything that Robin wanted to do.

"Come on Much." Robin pouted, "Don't be such a nanny!"

"I am not a nanny!" Much objected.

"Nanny! Nanny! Much is a nanny!" Will cried happily, clapping his hands.

Robin joined in. They each started dancing as they sang.

"Nanny! Nanny! Much is a nanny!"

"All right!" Much shouted, holding his head dramatically. "I'll go swimming!"

"Hurray!" Robin and Will laughed.

The three boys quickly removed their shirts. Robin and Will were all for skinny dipping, but Much talked them out of it.

"What if someone were to come and see us?" he said.

So they were content with swimming with their pants on. Technically, they weren't swimming as none of them knew how. They waded in until the water was up to Will's waist. Being the shortest and youngest, none wanted to wade further out for fear that Will might swim out over his head.

Content with where they were, the three boys started splashing each other and laughing until they were thoroughly soaked. Tiring of the splashing, Robin decided to kick things up a bit. He leaned over to Will and whispered something in his ear. Grinning excitedly, Will nodded.

Looking at his two friends in confusion, Much just stood their watching them. Only when they had started circling him did he realize what they were going to do.

"Oh no." he said, but it didn't matter.

Will and Robin tackled him quickly and soon an all out war started. Five minutes passed before the three boys started shivering with cold.

"C…can we go home now?" Will asked as he stood dripping in the water.

They were all rubbing their arms trying to warm up.

"S…sounds good to me." Robin agreed. "What about you Much?"

Much didn't reply.

"Much?" Robin looked over at his friend.

Much's eyes were wide with fear. Shakily, he raised a finger and pointed to a spot behind Will and Robin. Turning around, Robin and Will saw what had made Much paralyzed with fear. A snake was slivering, about twenty feet away from the boys. All three of the boys knew it was venomous. They didn't know what species it was, but all three had heard tales of the snakes around Locksley, killing people.

"What do we do?" Will asked fearfully.

"Maybe if we move slowly we can get away." Robin said.

Much nodded in agreement. Moving slowly, the three boys walked toward the shore while looking at the snake. Ever so slowly, the boys drew closer to the shore. At the same time, however, the snake was drawing closer as well.

"Run!" Robin shouted.

The three boys turned quickly and ran off. They had almost made it to the shore when Will suddenly fell. He screamed as he realized that he was stuck. He had fallen into a small hole that was pulling him down.

"Help!" he yelled.

Robin and Much, now on the shore, turned around quickly. They saw Will, sinking in the sand and the snake only a few feet from the boy. Without thinking, Robin ran back into the water and to Will. Much, deathly afraid of snakes, just stood their watching his friends.

Will had sunk up to his waist now. Robin grabbed his friend's hands and pulled as hard as he could. Will barely moved. The snake was getting closer. Suddenly, Robin slipped and fell right next to Will. He too was now stuck. He sank quicker then Will and was soon buried to his knees.

"Much!" he cried out, fear in his voice now. "Much! Help us!"

Much looked from the snake, to his scared friends. Struggling hard, they were each sinking. Robin was know up to his waist and Will was up to his armpits. They cried out in fear as the snake came within five feet of them. Much knew what he had to do. He ran into the water, grabbing a stick that was close by. The snake was three feet from the sinking boys now. Much ran around them until he was in front of them.

The snake was within reach of Much. He could see its vertical yellow eyes and the scales on its body. Shaking, Much reached out with the stick. To his horror, the snake slithered up onto the stick. His eyes wide, Much did what came natural. He flung the snake off the stick. With surprising strength, Much sent the snake flying. It didn't come back.

"Good job Much." Robin said, still sound fearful. "Help us please?"

He turned around. He grabbed onto Will and pulled backwards. The sand gave way and Will and Much were flung backwards.

"Th…thanks." Will panted, his eyes still wide.

"Um, guys." Robin called.

Turning around, they saw Robin sinking even faster. He was up to his armpits and sinking fast. When Will had been pulled free, the sand had started a void and Robin was sinking right into it. Will and Much ran over and grabbed onto him and pulled. They pulled Robin out quickly and all three boys fell into the water.

Panting heavily, the three boys just sat their for a moment.

"Maybe we should be going now." Much announced.

Nodding eagerly, Will and Robin scurried to their feet. Throwing there shirts on without waiting to dry, the three boys ran back to there homes. One thing was for sure, they would not be swimming for a long time.

_THE END_


End file.
